Rail-anchor



L. J. BERKELEY.

RAIL ANCHOR. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 19, 191B. )(ENEWED JUNE 27,1919.

1,329,360. Patented Feb. 3,1920.

itto rnegs,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LAURENCE J. BERKELEY, OF RACINE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO THE P & M COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

RAIL-ANCHOR.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LAURENCE J. Ban n- LEY, a citizen of the United States, I'GSldlIl at Racine, in the county of Racine and State of Visconsin, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Anchors, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part thereof.

This invention relates to devices for pre venting the creeping or longitudinal displacement of railway rails on the ties or bed which support them resulting from the passage of trains over them, expansion and contraction of the rails due to temperature changes, and other causes.

Its main objects are to eifect and ma1n= tain an initial grip or engagement of the anchor on a rall which will be increased with any longitudinal movement of the rail in the direction the anchor is intended to resist; to prevent displacement of the anchor on the rail in the opposite direction by the jar and vibration resulting {from traflic or by other causes; to facilitate the application of the anchor to and its re moval from a rail; and generally to mcrease the efficiency and improve the construction and operation of rail anchors.

It consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of parts as hereinafter particularly described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing like characters designate the same parts in the several figures.

Figure 1 is an inverted plan view of a rail anchor embodying the invention as ap plied to a rail base, parts of the anchor be ing broken away and shown in section; Flg. 2 is a vertical cross section of the anchor and rail base on the line 22, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 an elevation of the inner side of the jaw member; Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1, of a modified construction; and Fig. 5 is an inside elevation of a jaw member forming part of the anchor shown in Fig. 4:.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the anchor comprises a jaw member a, which may be stamped or forged from plate steel, or made of malleable iron or other suitable material.

- It is provided along its upper edge with a.

laterally bent flange b, forming a jaw which is adapted to hook over and engage with one edge of a rail base 0. The jaw member is Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 3, 1920.

27, 1919. SerialNo. 307,252.

also provided at one end with a vertical transverse flange d, for engagement with one side of a tie or other stationary part of a road bed.

In the vertical longitudinal wall of the jaw member a, a transverse opening 6 is formed, which is narrower at the ends than at the middle vertically, the middle portion of the opening being widened by an upward extension or notch f, as shown in Fig. 3.

The anchor also comprises in its preferred form, two bar members 9, which may be cut or stamped as shown, from heavy sheet or plate steel, with upwardly extending transverse enlargements h at one end and jaws i at the other end.

The ends of the bars next to the upwardly extending enlargements h, are rounded, as shown in Fig. 2, to admit of and facilitate inserting them through the opening 6 in the jaw member. This is accomplished by elevating the jaw end of each bar, inserting the rounded end through the wider central part of the opening 6, and then turning the bar down into a horizontal position or a position at right angles to the vertical wall of the jaw member a.

The bar members are formed in their lower edges adjacent to their curved ends with notches j, which are a little wider than the thickness of the vertical wall of the jaw member a, as shown in Fig. l, and of such depth as to permit the bar members to be i shifted sidewise into interlocking engagement with the narrower ends of the opening 6.

A still spiral spring Z, interposed between the bar members, tends to force them apart so that the jaws 2' bear with spring pressure against the edge of the rail base when the anchor is in operative position on the rail. The spring also holds the bars in interlocking engagement with the jaw memher a. V

The bar members are formed with depressions or seats m, for the ends of the spring Z, or are provided with other means for holding the spring in place when the parts of the anchor are assembled.

The jaws i are preferably undercut or notched to hook over the edge of the rail base 0, and securely hold the adjacent ends of the bars up against the bottom of the rail base, as shown in Fig. 2-.

. toward sorted between them, until the jaws To apply the anchor to a rail, the bar members 9 are passed. underneath the rail base and the jaw b of the member ais hooked over one edge of the base, the upper edges of the bar members adjacent to the upwardly extending enlargements it being cut away slightly as shown in Fi 2, to permit of this operation.

The divergent ends of the bar members 9 provided with the aws 2', are then forced together either by grasping them with tongs or by spreading their rounded converging ends with a pinch bar or similar tool in twill clear or pass upwardly into position to be engaged with the edge of the rail base opposite the jaw b. After the upper edges of the bar members have been raised against thebottom of the rail base, while they are held approximately parallel with each other and at right angles to the rail, they are released. The spring Z thereupon forces the jaws c' in opposite directions lengthwise of the rail into engagement with the adjacent edge of the rail base, the bar members assuming positions oblique to the rail base and diverging from each other from the jaw 6 toward the jaws i, as shown'in Fig. 1. The jaws i being held by the spring Z in constant and firm engagement with the rail base, any longitudinal movement of the rail the abutment d bearing against the side of a tie or other stationary part of the road bed, indicated by the broken line 0a-a:, Fig. 1, will, on account of the oblique position of the bar member nearest the abutment, tighten the grip of its jaw i and of the jaw b on the opposite edges of the rail base, and resist and arrest further movement or creeping of the rail, without releasing or afiecting the bite of the other jaw i on the rail base.

The rear bar member or that farthest from the abutment cl, with its jaw 2', resists and prevents displacement of the anchor lengthwise of the rail away from the tie or other stationary part of the road bed against which the abutment d bears, resulting from jar or vibration produced by the traffic over the road or from other causes.

By providing the jaw member a with an abutment cl at each end, the anchor would actwith equal efficiency to resist and prevent the creeping of the rail in either direction.

To remove the anchor from a rail, the

jaws e are forced toward each other in the manner hereinbefore explained, till they are disengaged from the rail base, and are then lowered, thereby releasing the jaw Z) and permitting the withdrawal of the anchor underneath the rail.

Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, simplerconstruction of the anchor having but one bar member g, the jaw member a is showing a bar or other tool, which is inserted between it and the rounded end of the bar 9, for forcing it against the tension of the spring Z toward a position at right angles to the rail base. In this position of the bar member the anchor can be readily applied to or removed from a rail base substantially in the same manner as the other form of anchor having the two divergent and oppositely acting bar members.

The modified form having the single bar member, operates the same as the other form having the two bar members, to resist, arrest and prevent longitudinal creeping of the rail in one direction, but does, not act as effectively to prevent displacement of the anchor on the rail in the opposite direction.

The ear or flange 0 is formed with a depression or seat m, like hat with which the bar 9 is formed, or may be provided with other suitable means for holding the spring Z in place.

Various changes other than that particularly mentioned, in the construction and arrangement of parts of the device may be made, without departure from the principle and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A rail anchor comprising a jaw member adapted to engage with one edge of a rail base, and provided with an abutment to bear against a stationary part of the road bed, a bar member pivotally connected at one end with said jaw member and provided at the other end with a aw adapted to engage with the other edge of the rail base, and a sping interposed between the bar member and another part of the anchor and tending to force the bar member toward said abutment.

2. n. rail anchor comprising a jaw member adapted to engage with one edge of a rail base and provided with an abutment to bear against a stationary part of the road bed; two bar members pivotally connected at one end with the jaw member and provided at the other end with jaws adapted to engage with the other edge of the rail base, and a spring interposed between the bar members and tending to force them apart and to hold their jaws in engagement with the rail base.

3. A rail anchor comprising a jaw member adapted to engage with one edge of a rail base and formed with an opening and with an abutment to bear against a stationary part of the road bed, a bar member adapted to pivotally interlock at one end with the opening in the jaw member, and ex tend transversely across the bottom of the rail base and provided with a jaw at the other end for engagement with the other edge of the rail base, anda spring interposed between the bar member and another part of the anchor and tending to force said bar member toward said abutment into a position oblique to the rail base.

4. A rail anchor comprising a jaw member adapted to engage with one edge of a rail base and provided with an abutment for engagement with a stationary part of the road bed, two bar members adapted. to pivotally interlock at one end with the jaw member and provided at the other end with jaws for engagement with the other edge of the rail base, and a spring interposed between the bar members and tending to force them in opposite directions lengthwise of the rail into positions oblique thereto and to hold their jaws in engagement with the rail base.

5. A rail anchor comprising a jaw member adapted to hook over and engage with one edge of a rail base andhaving an abutment for engagement with a stationary part of the road bed and an opening narrower Vertically at the ends than at the middle, two bar members formed at one end with transverse enlargements for interlocking and pivotal engagement with the opening in the jaw member and formed at the other end with jaws for engagement with the other edge of the rail base, and a spring interposed between the bar members and tending to force them apart and to. hold their jaws in engagement With the rail base.

6, A rail anchor, comprising a jaw member adapted to engage with one edge of a rail base and provided with an abutment for engagement with a stationary part of the road bed and an opening having narrower and wider portions vertically, a bar member having at one end a transverse enlargement for interlocking and pivotal engagement with the opening in the jaw member and at the other end a jaw for engagement with the other edge of the rail base, and a spring interposed between said bar member and another part of the anchor and tending to force the bar member toward said abutment and to hold the enlarged end of the bar member in engagement with the narrower portion of the openmg 1n the aw member and the jaw on the bar member in engagement with the rail base.

7. A rail anchor comprising a tie abutting member and a bar having an interlocking engagement with each other and which together embrace the base flange of the rail, and a spring for holding said bar in a diagonal position across the bottomof the rail when the anchor is in operative position thereon.

8. A rail anchor comprising a tie abutting member and a bar associated therewith and which together embrace the base flange of the rail, and a spring adapted to hold said bar member in an oblique position across the bottom of the rail and in engagement with one edge of the rail whereby the tendency to forward movement of the rail increases the grip of the anchor on the rail.

9. A rail anchor comprising a tie abutting membel and a bar having an interlocking engagement with each other and which together embrace the base flange of the rail, and a spring adapted to hold said bar in an oblique position across the bottom of the rail and in engagement with one edge of the rail whereby the tendency to forward movement of the rail increases the grip of the device on the rail.

10. A rail anchor comprising a tie abutting member adapted to engage one edge of the base of a rail, a bar formed at one end with a jaw adapted to interlock with said tie abutting member and at the other end with a jaw for engaging the other edge of the rail base; said bar being adapted to normally assume a diagonal position across the rail base whereby the gripping action of the anchor is increased by the creeping action of the rail, and a' spring for holding said tie abutting member and bar in their normal operative position on the rail.

11. A rail anchor comprising a tie abutting member adapted to engage one edge of the base of a rail, a bar having an interlocking engagement with said member and adapted to extend diagonally across the rail base and terminating in a jaw to engage the opposite edge of the rail base, whereby movement of the rail in one direction is checked, and means for preventing movement of the rail with respect to the tie abutting member in the opposite direction, comprising a yieldable device engaging the said member and the said opposite edge of the rail base.

In witness whereof I hereto affix my signature.

LAURENOE J. BERKELEY. 

